150bhp 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine possible
News
21 Nov, 2012
Ford is working on a 150bhp version of its efficient 1.0 EcoBoost engine
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He finds that you actually can drive it on electrons for about 20 miles
Reshared post from +Green Car Reports
What's Ford's first plug-in hybrid really like to drive? Well … a lot like the hybrid version, but ….
2013 Ford C-Max Energi Plug-In Hybrid: First Drive
The 2013 Ford C-Max Energi is the first plug-in hybrid from Ford to hit the road, and the company sold 144 of them in October even before letting journalists drive the car. It’s the pricier and more c…
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I took +Julie Abuelsamid's car over to UMTRI yesterday to get some equipment installed so that it could be a part of this safety pilot program. They installed a GPS receiver, data logger and transmitter that will send speed and location data receivers installed around Ann Arbor over the next year. It's part of a test of vehicle to infrastructure communications which has the potential to reduce congestion and improve safety and efficiency in coming years.
Bicycles, motorcycles to join thousands of talking cars operating in northeast Ann Arbor
Researchers are looking for more volunteers for a real-word deployment of roughly 2,800 connected vehicles in Ann Arbor.
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+Ford Motor Company has however implemented EV+ on it's new generation hybrid systems in the C-Max and Fusion. Information about your location and driving habits is aggregated using SYNC GPS, to look for patterns. As the system learns when you are approaching regular destinations, the battery gets used more aggressively to save fuel. This works on the regular hybrids, but it really comes into its own on the plug-in hybrid C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi where it will try to use up the battery power as you approach locations where you regularly plug in. Both C-Max versions and the Fusion hybrid are available now and the Fusion Energi PHEV goes on sale early in the new year.
Between this and systems like Google Now on Android phones, the cloud will soon no more about us than we do.
Reshared post from +Green Car Reports
Would't it be nice if your electric car just knew when you were close to home?
2013 Ford C-Max Energi: New EV+ Feature ‘Learns’ Regular Routes
Every driver of a plug-in hybrid electric car eventually wants to drive more on electricity and less on gasoline. So it’s frustrating when the battery charge indicator shows a reasonable level of char…
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The +Ford Motor Company "expert-in-residence" explains the importance of taking a break and how the Driver Alert System available on the #2013FordFusion and Explorer as well as the Lincoln MKS can help remind you when it's time to rest.
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Reshared post from +Motor Trend Magazine
It's the battle to see which hybrid is best: the 2013 +Ford Motor Company C-Max, or the 2012 +Toyota USA Prius V. Which is your pick?
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http://green.autoblog.com/2008/08/05/in-the-autobloggreen-garage-2008-bmw-123d-3-door-hatchback/
BMW's 1 Series is a great driving machine based on the the higher volume and much praised 3 series. Unfortunately despite the shorter wheelbase and significantly compromised interior packaging it was only about 100 pounds lighter than the 3.
I closed out my review then with the wish that BMW would offer it's marvelous turbodiesel four-cylinder in the US market 3 series wagon, combining the great dynamics of the 3 sedan with some reasonable utility and great fuel efficiency. It looks like that car will finally be arriving about a year from now.
Leaked: BMW diesels coming to the U.S. in 2013-2014
A leaked shot of an internal BMWNA Powerpoint presentation confirms a previous report we published in August: starting in 2013, a wide range of BMW diesels will make their way into the U.S. market.
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In the past when I had a V8 powered Mustang, I bought an extra set of wheels and mounted them with snow tires, and it made a huge difference in winter traction. In fact my high powered rear drive sports car did better on slippery surfaces than my wife's front wheel drive sedan with all-season tires.
Modern snow tires differ from all-season and summer tires in several important ways. They feature deeper tread grooves, and thousands of narrow grooves called sipes to help bite into snow and ice. Even the rubber itself is different with a formulation that helps it to stay pliable when the mercury dips.
Sacré Pneu! Quebec Mandates Winter Tires and the People Rejoice—or at Least Don’t Revolt
Drive down the streets of Montreal in the winter and you’ll notice a curious automotive fashion trend: Aftermarket wheels are everywhere, from high-end rims on Audis to rusted steelies on Saturns. It’…
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Renault, Caterham to produce new Alpine sports car | Autocar
Links forged in F1 have ignited a partnership between Renault and Caterham to build two new sports cars
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+Car and Driver Magazine is reporting that new +Audi International R&D boss Wolfgang Dürheimer has paused the development of the battery-powered R8 e-tron and may kill it entirely.
Apparently the cost of the batteries needed to provide the combination of range and performance needed for the R8 remains way too high.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the R8 BEV scuttled and instead replaced with an R8 e-tron quattro using the same flywheel hybrid system that served Audi so well this year in winning at Le Mans. Dürheimer was still in charge of R&D at Porsche when they developed the 911 GT3R hybrid with the flywheel system in 2010. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-fuel/hybrids/porsche-911-gt3r-hybrid-flywheel
Since the original 911 raced in 2010, the flywheel unit has been shrunk to half it's original size and weight and it could easily fit into the front luggage compartment along with the motors that drive the front wheels. In the hybrid 911 racer, fuel efficiency was boosted by 30%.
In the 911, the flywheel could provide 163 hp of boost. Imagine combining that with the 350 hp, 4.2-liter diesel V8 from the A8 sedan and you could have a really high performance sports car that is also very efficient, and much more practical than a battery powered version would have been.
Audi R8 e-tron Program on Hold, Could be Killed
For a car that debuted just three years ago and still isn’t available for public consumption, Audi’s R8 e-tron has a bit of history. Launched as the e-tron concept at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show, we …
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